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A cheese with colour and spice to make a nice change

I love cheese and often try new pieces when out on my shop - don't know why I have not reviewed some before.

My cheese to try this week was Mexicana Chilli Cheddar.

Red Leicester in general colour however it has tiny flecks in it which are chilli! Lots of reds, greens and cream bits so this is a bright cheese to liven up any cheese board if having friends round.It's lively appearance is matched by it's exciting flavour and bite of the chillies which do last with you for a while afterwards. I have to say I am not really a very hot spicy person, in that I tend to stick to kormas when having an Indian, but the fact that this is more of a snack than a meal helps and I am quite happy to munch threw a piece. I do like it on crackers and even a sandwich sometimes.

The cheese does have a spicy smell to it when you unwrap it but if rewrapped properly it does not smell in the fridge and last longer too. In terms of cutting the cheese is like any other solid cheddar it does not crumble and holds it's shape when moved from board to plate.The company suggest melting it over nacho's which is a nice idea I might try out.

Made by the Ilchester cheese company www.ilchester.co.uk so this is a British cheese.Costs will vary depending on size but the piece I bought at the time of writing was £1.39 for 0.232kg so it is not very much difference than standard cheese. I bought mine from Sainsbury but it is found in Tesco and I am sure most supermarkets with a deli counter or a delicatessen also.

This is a cheese that I highly recommend for people to try out and especially for cheese boards with friends for that little difference.

Review maybe posted on dooyoo and ciao under the same username.

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Great, spicy cheese

I came across this incredible cheese by complete accident when I was roaming the fridges at Morrisons. I was looking for something to go as a sandwich filler, and noticed that certain cheeses were on offer. Among them was a packed of this cheese in slices. Now, generally I hate cheese sandwiches - I find them bland and boring. However, as this cheese was on offer and suggested that it would have a kick to it, I bought two packs. I was not disappointed.

The packagingThe packaging for my slices was striking. The font itself and the large chilli placed behind it suggest you are buying a fiery cheese. The slogan, 'Dare you... it BITES back' I think is particularly effective as it challenges the buyer to want to almost 'defeat' this cheese by eating it. It almost put me off for fear that the cheese would be too spicy, but I have a moderate-high spice tolerance and concluded that I was simply being silly.

The productI tried the product before using it as a sandwich filler in case I hated it. The cheese itself is an orange colour, and tastes smooth and creamy. It's truly lovely. However, it is covered with green and red chilli bits, which really make this cheese so tasty. Upon trying it, I did think 'wow, this has got a kick to it', but not so much as to need to drink water or anything to that degree. In a sandwich, it was amazingly tasty and filling, giving it the edge that other cheeses simply fail at doing. I love it!

PriceMy slices were priced at £1.88 each for 160g but were on offer in Morrisons for 2 for £3. I have read that you can buy it in blocks, which I assume would give you better value for money than the slices, but I can't find any prices for them.

OverallIf you enjoy spice, and would like something that has that 'edge' over your average cheese, then I would definitely recommend this! It's probably not a great idea for those with a low spice tolerance though.

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Cheese with a kick

I spotted Ilchester Mexicana cheese on offer at my local Tesco. Normally this is available at the cheese counter but it's now available in slices in the cheese aisle and it's currently on offer for the bargain price of £1 for 8 slices.

So what is Mexicana cheese? Well it's cheddar with some serious bite! The slices themselves are very colourful - orange with red and green specks of chilli in it. In fact to look at it resembles Red Leicester cheese. Opening the pack the first thing that hit me was the strong smell of garlic with a spicy undertone.

I decided to try this in a sandwich with some salad. The packet suggests leaving the slices out for five minutes before serving as this brings the cheese to room temperature and allows the flavours to develop. As the slices were stuck together I used a knife to separate them and I couldn't resist breaking off a piece to try.

The cheese is very creamy and tangy with a strong garlicky taste. It took a couple of seconds for the chilli to kick in but when it did it certainly packed a punch! My tastebuds were dancing and I was surprised quite how spicy this was. I found it utterly delicious and it was just as tasty in my sandwich. I've also had this in pasta with tomato sauce which gave it an interesting twist.

Nutritional info: It is cheese, healthy in moderation but don't overindulge - though with this cheese it's easier said than done! Overall, this was delicious and I will be definately be buying again. Recommended!

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Great cheese i will continue to buy for ever :)

t was a nice relaxed sunday and ive just been paid and went to Tesco to do my food shopping, like many people i just mosy around bored out of my skull looking at endless packaging. I only get excited when i go to the fresh counters. Anyway, they had tasters on the top of the cheese counter (ps i love cheese) and it had this mexicana cheese on the top, i thought why not, so i had some and my god it was like an explosion of taste in my mouth.The cheese itself was a tasty red leicester with spots of chedder in it, and red and green chillies cut up and mixed inside. the great thing a bout this cheese is its not too powerful on the heat side.

I had to buy some there and then, when i asked for it, i didnt even look at the price until it went through the till. I got 200g for 94p......yes 94 pence as it was on an introductory offer.After munching all that in like a week, i had to get some more, and what suprised me again is that it was only £1.23 for 200g. It is now something i buy on my regular shops.

This cheese goes great to spice up a boring burger, a bland baked potato and all though very student like, on top of a macaronni cheese yum.

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My Favourite Mexicana

Love this stuff! It really is the best mexicana you can get - It seems to be available however only in asda. It is a really nice mature tasting cheddar like cheese with added chillis that really do give it an almighty kick, more so than any other mexicana I have tasted! I got so used to buying this brand, that on a recent trip to a local supermarket, I got the supermarket own brand and was highly disappointed as I really couldnt even taste the chillis in it because they were so weak!

This is a cheese which you cant tamper with - the taste is amazing on its own so its something to enjoy either as a treat on its own or in a toasted sandwich, my housemate was recently caught eating it with meat in a sandwich - in my opinion this is wrong becuase any other flavours will take away from the wondering kick that you get from this mexicana.

At around £2 for a reasonably sized chunk, you cant complain about the price!

It may not be for everyone though - If you like really strong like me, get it and youre going to love it- but if you are week, better off sticking to the plain old cheddar!

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Hot Stuff.

I often find my self craving spice, by that I don't mean anything in the confectionary line (also a Yorkshire term for sweets), In this case for me spice means spicy, I suppose something like a Bombay Bad Boy Pot Noodle springs to mind, but as I tend to give things like that a wide berth, they aren't really an option.

I am well aware that the supermarket shelves are full of weird (sometimes wonderful) flavoured crisps, snacks, salsas and dips, but I really wanted something a little healthier.

My search for such came to an end when I spotted this Mexicana cheese on the deli counter in our local Tesco, spice without the guilt I thought.

Mexicana is a wonderful, mild cheddar cheese spiked throughout with jalapeno, bell and chilli peppers, and orangey coloured cheese, speckled with red and green spicy delights, which certainly tastes as good as it looks.

The piece I bought from the deli counter weighed 0.225kg and was priced up at £1.47 (£6.53 per kg) it had been cut and wrapped in store.

Removing the clear film wrap instantly released the dominant aroma of chillies, almost strong enough to make your eyes water. Tasting this was indeed a delightful tongue tingling experience, the combination of the mild smooth creamy cheddar together with the fiery heat from the chillies, is in my opinion, a wonderful combination.

Husband and son had a different reaction; theirs was more of an "Urgh chillies" followed by a swift glass of water. I shouldn't have been that surprised really at their instant dislike for this, as they do both tend to be a bit wimpish where chillies are concerned in such a great quantities.

In my continued quest to "educate" their taste buds, I decided on a different approach, by first placing some of it grated in a bowl alongside the usual salsa, sour cream and guacamole the last time I made Fajita's. I was pleasantly surprised to see them adding this to theirs, but I can only assume they thought it was just the normal cheddar cheese I have used in the past, for they said nothing.

My second test came when we were having baked potatoes for lunch (that's the twice baked kind.) where you bake your potatoes in the oven, then once the are cooked, remove them from the oven, cut open and carefully remove the potato flesh with a spoon and it place in a bowl, add some butter salt & pepper and grated cheese then mix together until it's well combined, before spooning the mixture back into your potato skins. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top then pop them on a baking tray returning the back to the oven until they are golden brown. This usually takes an additional 15minutes or so for a truly delicious lunch or snack. They won't turn out the same if you microwave them though, for this you really do need to use your oven even though they do take longer to cook it's certainly worth the wait. Another successful result and empty plates meant I could use this cheese even more and have since substituted the normal cheddar for this when making the sauce for cauliflower cheese and have also with great success included cubes of it in the centre of homemade beef burgers, as well as using it in a cheese and onion quiche, all of which have met with their approval.

I do of course still enjoy it its " virgin" state when I have one of my spice cravings, even though it is powerfully fiery when eaten alone, you can easily temper the heat somewhat if you eat it with a cooling stick of celery or a crispy green apple.

Mexicana is made by the Ilchester Cheese Company, who are also responsible for making over 50 other different cheeses including five counties and Applewood smoked which you may have already heard of.

The Ilchester Cheese Company was formed back in the 1960's when its founder discovered the delightful delicious results he achieved when he combined cheese and beer in an attempt to keep the cheddar that sat in is hotel bar fresher for longer.

I read with interest on their website that this caused quite a stir back then as when the cheese was launched 10 million teetotallers were asked to boycott it by the Temperance Council; this was regardless of the fact one would have to eat at least 201bs of the stuff to reach the equivalent of a pint of beer. How times have changed.

Despite their early teething problems the company continue to cause excitement with new and wonderful creations, Mexicana being one of my favourites.

You should be able to find this cheese without any problems as Ilchester Cheese Company supply all the major supermarkets in the UK either pre packed or on the deli counter, you will also find it in a number of independent stores too. It is available in 3 or 1.5kg wheels, 1kg blocks together with 150g and even smaller portions like the one I purchased and buy now.You may also find yourself in the lucky position of being able to taste this before you actually buy it from the deli counter.

If you love the intensive heat and flavour that chillies give then you'll certainly enjoy this one. It is also suitable for chilli loving vegetarians too.